As the only senior on Cal's basketball team this season, Markhuri Sanders-Frison will miss playing with this bunch in 2011-12. The young Bears should be an improved team over the one that finished the regular season at 17-13 on Saturday with a 74-55 victory over Stanford.

Sanders-Frison was introduced before the game at Haas Pavilion along with his family in a senior day ceremony and left the contest with 1:06 remaining to a spirited ovation after he had a lucky double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

"It was very emotional," he said. "I appreciate all the love and support from the fans, Bear Backers, the coaches and my teammates. It was an emotional day for me. I love this group of guys."

In finishing 10-8 in the Pac-10 and tied for fourth place, the Bears will play USC on Thursday at noon in the conference tournament at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The teams split during the season, each side winning a close game on the road.

"That's quite an accomplishment for this group," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. "I think 17 (wins overall) and 10 (in the conference) is fabulous. There's been pretty good chemistry with this group. ... With these guys, I'm pretty pleased with what they've been able to get done."

Stanford closed out at 15-15 with a conference record of 7-11 and will play Oregon State on Wednesday night in the tournament.

"I feel like we're getting better, but we have a long way to go as a team," said Stanford guard Jeremy Green, who led the Cardinal with 19 points.

Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins said, "For us, it was important to play well and keep developing. We didn't play the way I had hoped."

That's because Cal took the game to Stanford from the opening tip when it came out in man-to-man defense that the Bears used to stretch out to a 19-4 lead with 9:23 left in the first half on Allen Crabbe's layup and free throw. Those were three of the freshman's four points in the half, after which he erupted for 21 in the second as the Bears built a lead that grew to as much as 26 points.

Cal had fun in the second half as it shot better than 65 percent from the field (17 of 26) thanks to a number of breakaway buckets. Two of those came from Crabbe, at 12:30 and 8:14, and gave the Bears 21-point leads each time (51-30 and 59-38).

"I thought second-chance baskets and fast-break baskets led to easy opportunities for them," Dawkins said. "We gave up way too many of them. A lot of (Cal's) young guys are stepping up and playing well. They seem like a more confident team."

That's because Cal finished off the regular season on a four-game winning streak. The Bears go into the conference tournament on an optimistic note.

"I think we'll do great," Sanders-Frison said. "We have a lot of confidence. We have all the keys to unlock the doors we want to unlock. I think we're in a good place."

Briefly: Stanford guard Aaron Bright left the game in the first half with a left shoulder injury. ... Cal outrebounded Stanford 38-26. ... Guard Jorge Gutierrez had eight points, seven assists and four steals for Cal.